What I Mean Is
by gacrux11
Summary: A few oneshots revolving around some of the pairings of ffxiii. Just for fun.
1. Romance Guru

So. A collection of drabbles, oneshots, twoshots (and sometimes song-fics) focused on a variety of pairings from Final Fantasy XIII.

M/M, M/F, and F/F content within.

**First: **Hope asks Sahz a question. Sahz is left to wonder why he suddenly became the go-to guy when it came to romance.

"Sahz?" The blonde teen asked, flopping down onto the grass beside the older male.

"What?" He mumbled, eyes half-closed. Typical Sahz, worn out after fighting. Apparently Sahz deemed it perfectly okay to take a nap in the middle of nowhere. Hope rolled his eyes in amusement.

"What's wrong with me?" He asked, earning a suspicious stare from Sahz.

"...Depends. Is this about being a l'Cie?" He replied, sitting up on his elbows to get a better look at the smaller boy. Hope shook his head slowly, squinting up at the horizon.

"It's about Lightning," Hope murmured, and suddenly, Sahz was very worried about the whole conversation. Not even in a mildly good way, either.

"And what about Lightning?" The dark-skinned man asked, head tilted to the side slightly.

"It's... well, it's hard to explain." Hope said, fumbling for words. It was rather difficult to spit out what he wanted to say when he didn't know how to put it. Raising an eyebrow, Sahz clapped him on the back. Hope choked on his own spit and whipped around to glower at the older man.

"Alright, Hope, just say it." Sahz said, leaning back on his hands. And, well, he did.

"'slike, sevenyearsolderthanmeandoh_god_ –" Well. It was a good thing Sahz had travelled with Vanille for the better part of the journey to Pulse because otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to understand a single word Hope had said.

"Right, well," Sahz began, looking rather uncomfortable. "Just, uh, just follow your heart. I think. Find the right time to tell her and then... and, uh, and then just... tell her." Sahz said, stumbling for words. You never really knew how hard it was to tell someone how to _deal _with their relationship issues until you actually have to help them. Hope gave a small – but meaningful – smile and nodded his thanks before jogging off elsewhere.

Sahz, glad for the peace, flopped back onto the ground and was just about to nod off when, out of absolutely _nowhere, _Vanille rammed right into his side.

"Sahz!" Why yes, Vanille dear? "You'll tell me how to deal with Fang, right?" Sahz got the feeling he wouldn't be getting much for a nap that afternoon.


	2. Close Enough

**Second: **Yuj and Maqui were always good friends. Perhaps not _best _friends, but close enough. And _then _Maqui just _has _to go and kiss him.

So, there they were. Chilling out at the bar by the beach; the usual hang out spot. Ever since Snow up and disappeared, NORA was almost disbanded. Yuj didn't blame anyone for it – if there was no Snow, there was no NORA. It was a rule of thumb when it came to the members of the group.

It was strange, but the only two members that actually continued meeting up with each other while the rest just waited around for Snow's return were Yuj and Maqui. Why was it strange? Simply because they weren't the most likely candidates for friendship. The only thing they really had in common was their idolization of Snow – and even that was beginning to fade with every passing day.

"Hey, Yuj?" Maqui asked, glancing over the table at the blue-haired teen. Said boy glanced back.

"What?" He asked, tracing the patterns on the table. There was a screeching of chairs but Yuj didn't bother looking up because Maqui did that sometimes – just randomly got up and stretched because he couldn't stay still for more than fifteen minutes. The blunet chuckled to himself but jumped slightly when he saw Maqui's curious brown eyes darting around his face. Confused, he leaned back into his chair but Maqui just kept leaning in, and in, and in.

Until their lips pressed together and Yuj was _really _very confused. But that's not to be mixed up with disliking the kiss. He actually didn't mind it. Somehow.

Maqui pulled back a little, red in the face, but none the worse for wear. When Yuj didn't react, he gave a bleak little smile and backed off, adjusting the goggles on his forehead.

Acting upon a certain instinct, Yuj stood up and placed a tentative hand on the young boy's waist. And then the other. And then he pulled him closer, and closer and closer – until they were flush against each other. Maqui was watching him with this curious, almost glassy stare all the while.

Then he leaned in and pressed gentle (but not _too _gentle) lips to the blondes. Said teen snapped out of his stupor almost immediately as he opened his mouth slightly, meeting Yuj in an oddly heated kiss. He wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck and toyed with the long strands of blue-ish hair, smiling into the kiss.

It was strange, but neither really cared. It felt good. It felt _right_.


	3. Straight to Center

**Third: **Hope's not a kid; Hope's not an adult. Hope doesn't know what the hell to do these days. Snow seems to know, though.

It hurt, every now and again. Hope felt like maybe the world was crashing down around his ears and he couldn't help it.

Most times, he went to Lightning. She was reliable; thoughtful; intelligent; one of his closest, most _treasured _friends. He trusted her with his life, his heart, and the little pieces of him that he gave to her. He loved her. Loved her _so _much.

Sometimes he'd talk to Fang. She was crude but didn't beat around the bush; she got her point across; she was brutally honest when he needed her to be. He trusted her like he would trust an older sister, or that crazy aunt that loves you like her own son. He treasured her advice when he got it.

Other times he'd talk to Vanille. She was enthusiastic; high off life; a shimmer of white light even in the darkest black. She knew where her heart was and her intentions were always in the right place. She loved him like a brother and he loved her like a sister.

Then he'd talk to Sahz because let's face it – he's the eldest and wisest out of all of them. He's been there, done that. He went to Sahz with problems he couldn't tell Lightning or Fang or Vanille because they were that bad, or they just wouldn't get it. He liked Sahz because he treated him like an adult when he needed it and a kid when he didn't.

And then there was Snow.

Snow was a bit of a different story compared to the rest of his friends; family, really. Snow meant so much less, yet so much more. He went to Snow when he felt like his life could've been so much more. He went to Snow when he needed someone to snap him out of whatever he'd fallen into. Hope found this odd because he hated Snow in the beginning and he still didn't _trust _him with his life or his heart or the little pieces of him that he'd stolen away.

Yet, Hope found he started giving more and more away every time met with Snow. Usually it was just to talk; get things off his chest that he couldn't tell anyone else. But, like all things that sit on the fence, their relationship took a sharp turn.

Hope remembered getting angry at Snow because he'd said something that upset him. It was probably something about his mother because Hope remembered damn near bursting into tears because it stung that badly. He remembered trying to leave, and then Snow's arms pulling him back saying he had to face it sooner or later. Then he turned around and told Snow to go fuck himself because he didn't want his advice or his help – but, now that he thought about it, it probably didn't make that much of an impression because he'd been crying.

Instead, Snow had put his arms around him and held him there until he stopped thrashing and then they just... stood there. Hope still didn't understand how just that could keep him so warm after so long.

Then he remembered Snow looking at him straight to center and then Hope felt really... strange. He still doesn't know what that was, but if felt good. Like someone had lit a match in the dark and given him a little bit more light. A little more security.

Then it was just an awkward brushing of lips; the feeling of toned muscle beneath his finger tips; an oppressive lurch of feelings in his stomach and his entire soul was lit aflame.

His relationship with Snow was a lot different than his relationship with Lightning or Vanille. It was more intense and less tactful. It was strange and new and raw. It was addicting; wrong; concentrated on pushed ever button that they had. It hurt and healed at the same time.

Hope felt it grow every time Snow's tongue made his mind shut down and the shade of his skin grow a little redder. He felt it when Snow's hands ran up and down his ribs, scratching and kneading and making him shudder. He felt it was he was shoved up against a wall and touched the way he _needed _it so, so badly.

He really didn't know what they were getting themselves into. Neither did Snow. They were just fumbling around in the dim light, trying to understand what they were looking for.


End file.
